The London Welsh Rugby Club Podcast: Recent Episodes
London Welsh RFC
This podcast aims to give you the latest news from London Welsh RFC with interviews from the coaches, former and current players; and some of the officials from the club. During the season we will have match previews, plus all the post match reactions from both sides, as well as contributions from all playing sections of the club. Come on you Welsh. Hosted by Gareth Vaughan Jones
In this weeks' episode we chat to former London Welsh and Leicester player Dai (David) Williams. Dai comes from great sporting stock with a strong athletic background from both sides of his parents family. He was raised in Leicestershire and made his way into the Leicester team full of seasoned internationals. A job move to Brighton a few years later and he came to London Welsh and played here for 7 seasons. Injury, form, selection; meant he wasn't always in the 1st XV, but if you wore a red shirt you were playing for the club. Post rugby, he played Vets, formed 'The Martini Club', a huge part of the Voyagers and coordinated the London Welsh former players lunch. A true London Welsh rugby man and a top fella to boot. Enjoy. If any former players want to get on the mailing list for future lunches; please get in touch with Dai. daiwilli@sky.com
Our guest this week is former London Welsh back row specialist, Mike Denbee. Mike born and bred in Somerset and was late to the game as a teenager; worked his way to the Weston Super Mare Colts, which helped him transition to senior rugby at the club. He was doing this whilst studying for a degree at Plymouth, but in his last year decide to have a crack at playing at Plymouth Albion with Graham Dawe in charge. He was offered a professional contract, but then he went on to play in Spain and Birmingham Solihull, before finding himself at London Welsh. Three great seasons at the club, especially the Promotion one with Lyn Jones. Mike quit professional rugby at the right time for him and then managed playing semi pro and his career in insurance for 5 years before he retired. Some great stories from Mike here and a honest assessment of his rugby journey. Enjoy
Our guest this week is former London Welsh full back Matt Vines. Born and bred in Wales, he made the move to St Mary's University in London and found himself at London Welsh at 19. Matt was selected by Mike Gosling for a few first team appearances in that first season when they were promoted to National 3. Matt tells us about the Clive Griffiths era and the Semi professional approach of the club and a really funny story about a new signing getting injured!!! Matt loved the environment and the group of players that Adrian Davies signed for the club and had his most successful spell in that first season in 2000. He explain why he left London Welsh to go to Rugby Lions and then comes back again and loved the tours that the players went on. A real honest account of a much loved player at London Welsh, with plenty of stories to boot. Enjoy.
Our guest this week is Academy Award winning producer James Gay-Rees producer of films including AMY, Senna and Diego Maradonna. Box to Box Films is an award documentary production company based in London, Paris and Los Angeles and they are the team behind Formula 1:Drive to Survive, Break Point, Full Swing, Unchained and the recently released SIX NATIONS:FULL CONTACT. James grew up in Richmond and Twickenham and played Mini rugby at London Welsh and has fond memories of watching the senior side in the 70's playing at Old Deer Park. We discuss his journey from Minis to top Documentary maker and the ins and outs of the new behind the scenes 6 Nations series. Very engaging chap, who would love to reconnect with London Welsh. There may even be a film in it. 😉 Enjoy
Morlais has been a player, team manager and supporter of London Welsh for 59 years. Brought up in Mynnydd Careg and wasn't allowed to play rugby until he left school. He played for Kidwelly RFC whilst in Wales and then made the move to Notting Hill. You will not believe which club he played for first, before he made the move to London Welsh in 1965. Played for 20 years across the Extra A's, A's, Dragons and Druids, before stepping into team management for the club. Morlais was appointed 1st team Manager in 1993 and he didn't miss a match until he retired from the role in 2007. We chat about tours as a player and a team manager, plus how he didn't let cancer beat him. A Man who has seen it all at the club and who has made so many lifelong friends at London Welsh. Enjoy
Our guest this week is Ben Whitehouse, WRU Professional Referee. A busy official who has just been been away for two rounds of European Cup duty as a referee and TMO; and is getting ready for the 6 Nations. We discuss what the Word Cup was like as part of the whole officiating squad and his role within it. We learn about his refereeing journey and get to understand who his role models are. A young referee with lots of experience; becoming more prominent in the International arena. Enjoy.
Our guest this week is former British and Irish Lion and Wales Scrum Half, Mike Phillips. Mike gives his tribute on the loss of JPR; a true Wales, Lions and London Welsh Legend. We discuss his forthcoming appearance at London Welsh dinner on Feb 9th as part of the club's England vs Wales weekend. We also chat about what he is doing now that he lives in Dubai, plus we spend some time reflecting on his media role during the Rugby World Cup and look forward to the 6 Nations. Enjoy.Tickets for the Dinner are available on www.londonwelshrugby.club/
Our guest this week is former Premiership Hooker, Dan George. We discuss the many sliding doors moments of rugby and what rugby has given him and continues to give him as he enjoys coaching at Old Albanians and Ealing Trailfinders Academy. He started life in Wales, representing his country at U16, U18 and U21, whilst representing the Scarlets and playing for Llandovery College. He moved to London Welsh at the age of 21, playing over 90 matches across the 5 seasons and had his most consistent year; the year the club won promotion under Lyn Jones. This is a real honest account about the ups and downs of life of a professional rugby player, who went on and played at Gloucester, Worcester, Blackheath, Bedford, London Scottish and Chinnor. Enjoy
Our guest this week is Senior Men's Coach and Head Coach of Druids, Andrew Evans. Andy was late to the game of rugby, only taking it up in West Scotland at the age of 17; but there was plenty of rugby pedigree in his family. He started life on the wing and post school found himself working as a Coach for the Scottish Rugby Union. He was meant to go into the Army at 19, but decided to loved coaching so much and went to Wales to get a degree in Rugby Coaching. Post University, he landed a role as Community Coach at London Scottish and then came across to London Welsh to train and play for the club as a Hooker. He then got involved with coaching the U18's and that then developed into his current role. We discuss his role at Imperial College and we preview this weekends' London Welsh U20 clash with Richmond. Enjoy
Our guest this week is our Aussie flanker Rohan. Born and bred in Sydney, playing touch rugby with his brothers and lots of club rugby in the suburbs before he got to make senior appearances. He gave up rugby for a few years post an ACL injury and moved to the UK . Will Taylor encouraged him to play touch at the club and the rest is history. A very popular player with the members and someone who clearly loves being part of this Community club. Enjoy
Our guest this week is Nigel. Nigel came to London Welsh in 1979 and either played or coached at the club for over 19 years. He takes us through his journey, plus all the tours the club went on during his time there. Nigel had offers to go and play elsewhere; but this was the only club for him. We hear about the escapades the 'Martini Club' get up to and what lifelong friendships he has made during his time here. Nigel chats about his time at Llandovery College and what a hot bed of talent it was and still is. A true gent, who has been chair of the Voyagers since 2006 and has plenty of stories to entertain you. Enjoy.
A couple of guests this week. Our main guest is Sam, who joined London Welsh at the beginning of Project Reset and was a big character in the squad for the two seasons he played for the club. A very proud Northerner, who played some tough rugby in Yorkshire, who also escaped the UK to travel and to ski. Sadly work curtailed his LW journey, but he still turns out for the Vets and is often at ODP on match days with the family supporting the club. We are also joined by 1st team player Gareth Lewis to see what's happening inside the camp. Enjoy
Our guest this week is former London Welsh Scrum Half, Rob Lewis. Rob was brought up in Abergavenny and went to senior school in Hereford where he grew to love rugby. He signed professional terms with the Dragons and was loaned out the some Welsh Premiership clubs to get experience before he made his regional debut. Some 7's rugby for Wales and then Danny Wilson signed him for London Welsh. 8 years at London Welsh winning 3 trophies and experiencing a couple of relegations, makes this podcast a fascinating listen. Enjoy.
Our guest this week is Club Captain Adam Nixon. Adam was born in the Midlands and was part of both Leicester Tigers and Worcester Warriors Academies before he went to Australia to play rugby in his gap year. 4 years at Leeds University, where he played National 1 rugby; before he escaped to Guernsey to start his career in financial services and to play for the island team. 2 years of great fun for young Adam, meant he had to come to London to work and found himself at CS Stags with a great bunch of mates. Post pandemic, he fancied a change and came to London Welsh and has never looked back. A fascinating insight on our club and why he choose to come to London Welsh and why he loves it so much. Enjoy
In this weeks' pod, we hear from former player James Roberts, now Sports Broadcaster as he takes us through his documentary that he has made about London Welsh, called Dragons in Exile. We hear about his rugby background and all the support he received from Cardiff Met as he pursued his Masters in Sports Broadcasting. James came to London Welsh and was with us for two years during Covid; so his game time was limited and then cut short through injury. He still benefitted greatly from the `Careers Hub at London Welsh and felt the advice given has helped shape his career to date. He is now an active Stadium Announcer, Commentator at many sports event around the world and we expect many more things from James, once people get to see the film he has made. We also catch up with Osian McAvoy on the club's season to date, his thoughts on the top of the table clash with Havant and why the squad for this season is tighter than ever. Enjoy.
In this weeks' episode we hear from London Welsh Scrum Half, Hywel Williams. He takes us through his brief thoughts on the Rugby World Cup; his trip to Nantes with many of the players and his thoughts on the season to date. We then have Rugby Paper journalist, Brendan Gallagher and former Wales international Adrian Davies looking at how the teams have performed during the group stages and we give our predictions on who will make the Semi Finals. Enjoy
Our guest this week is Australian Premiership prop Ollie Hoskins. We discuss the Rugby World Cup to date and preview the big mach between Wales and Australia this weekend. We hear about how Ollie became capped by Australia in 2021 and what it meant to him and how the clip of him being told he was in the squad, went Viral. Ollie also takes us through his journey to becoming a professional player, why he came to the UK and how much he loved playing for London Irish. Ollie is still settled in London and is now playing for Saracens and is looking forward to the challenge that brings. Enjoy
Our guest this week is former Wales International, Cardiff Blues and current Ealing Trailfinders player, Lloyd Williams. We discuss his Rugby World Cup memories, plus ask for this thoughts on the current campaign as we look forward to the Portugal match at the weekend. We catch up on his career and his pathway to Cardiff Blues and why he left to join Ealing Trailfinders. He also speaks about helping the London Welsh squad at training and chats about London life. Enjoy
In this episode we speak with former Wales International and ex London Welsh Coach Adrian Davies. We get his perspective from his experience being part of two Wales World Cup Squads’ in 1991 and 1995 and then enjoying the other World Cups as a fan. We discuss the merits of each group in RWC 2023 and which teams we think will make progress into the Quarter Finals. Enjoy.
In this episode we hear from the club Director of Rugby, Cai Griffiths as he previews the season ahead in Regional 1 South Central.
Our guest in this special is BBC Rugby Union Correspondent, Chris Jones. Chris is a former KCS player and was a guest at London Welsh when both teams played each other in London South 1. We chat about his rugby journey and how he got the role at the BBC. What he learned as a London Society Referee and why he might go back. Chris shares with us his views on the state of the Championship, current form of the Home Nations and what's it like interviewing Eddie Jones. A fascinating conversation from a top journalist who is at the forefront of our game. Enjoy.
Our guest this week is former back row player, Ollie Steadman. Ollie has played in the Championship for over a decade and is well placed to give his honest assessment of the league and what could be done to improve its visibility. He joined London Welsh from Newcastle after helping them gain promotion from the Championship to the Premiership as we went the other way. He played a big part in helping London Welsh get promotion to the Premiership under Justin Burnell, but then a few short weeks into that season he was suspended. He is very straight talking and tells us exactly what happened from his perspective. He then moved on a played for Doncaster, Leeds, Ealing, Bedford and is now looking to help Moseley out of National 1. Enjoy
Our guest this week is former London Welsh captain, Graeme Peacock. He grew up in New Zealand, but was quite a latecomer to rugby, enjoying other sports before got hooked on the sport at 16. He then played locally for his club, before getting involved with the District side and coming up against some very famous All Blacks like Ian Jones and Buck Shelford. He moved to the UK and played a bit with a few clubs, before a chance meeting with Andy Lee and moving to Old Deer Park. Graeme played for the club all the way through the 90's when we went from Amateur to Semi Pro and discusses the different environments and some of the characters he played with. He is still involved in professional sport and spends his time now as a Caddie for an American golfer. Enjoy
Our guest this week is former London Welsh scrum half Ian George. Ian started his senior rugby career with Northampton Saints, but struggled to get a regular starting birth at his favourite position of scrum half as he was behind a current England International and was often playing centre. He moved to Rosslyn Park to further his International aspirations and sat on the bench a few times, but was never capped by England. He captained the Barbarians a few times in his 14 appearances and won a County Final at Twickenham with Middlesex. Ian moved to London Welsh in 1979 and Old Deer Park was his home for the next 6 seasons where he made scrum half position his own and really enjoyed his rugby at the club. We chat about his current role at Saracens and what its like being a parent of a professional player, travelling the world watching your offspring play. Enjoy
Our guest this week is our former hooker Chris Ritchie. Chris played back row all through his time at Swansea University, where he captained them and the Welsh Universities. He went on to play for Oxford University for one season, before settling down to play for Rosslyn Park whilst earning his keep in Insurance. A couple of years into his senior rugby career, he switched to hooker where he played for the rest of his playing days. Adrian Davies convinced Chris to come across the A316 to London Welsh to play at Level 2 where he became a firm favourite with the Supporters and players at the club. 143 appearances later during 6 eventful seasons he then retired, only to go on and play another 100 games for Rosslyn Park. Chris keeps in terrific shape through cycling challenges and loved reminiscing about his time at London Welsh and Rosslyn Park. Two great clubs. Enjoy
Our guest this week is former centre and full back Seb Jewell. Seb has a unique perspective of his time at the club having lived through the joy of a couple of promotions to the Premiership, a B&I Cup win and was there at the end when the club went into liquidation. He talks about his sliding doors moment of how he signed for Harlequins after playing for Richmond Rugby Club and how challenging it was to break into 1st team rugby. He was loaned out to Esher for a couple of seasons to get consistent game time and he really blossomed as a player and was eventually signed by London Welsh. Seb chats about the Wednesday night sessions with the young lads and how much enjoyment he had playing rugby at Old Deer Park. Enjoy.
Our guest this week, is Club Chairman Danny Griffiths. In this interview we discuss the key themes from the AGM. The Board restructure, the end of the 5 year plan and what comes next. Where are we financially with the club and what does the club require to prosper at Level 5 with the increase in travel costs and ensuring we have a club that can compete at this level. New membership packages and what will happen on match days. The big shout for volunteers for the club to enable us to move forward in delivering a great Community Club. Vacant roles are below.
Head of Mini & Youth Rugby Head of LW Careers Hub Head Coach Girls Rugby Club Accountant Book keeper Shop Manager Social Media Manager Match Day Media Coordinator Men’s Social Media Rep Mini & Youth Social Media Rep Supporters Club Social Media Rep Match Day volunteers Sponsor Liaison Officers
Our guest this week, is Saracens and England International player Alex Goode. Alex played a few games for London Welsh in 2008 to help us avoid relegation and to ensure he was game ready for the U20 World Cup. We discuss the run in that Saracens have in the Premiership and the hope that they can get to another final at Twickenham. Alex was successful at many sports, but was only picked up by the Saracens Academy after he had played for England U18's; and what a career he has had; 5 Premiership titles, 3 European Cups and 2019 European Player of the Year and still looking to add to those. We discuss life after rugby, whenever that will be and how much he enjoys playing the game. You will be very impressed with his recollection of the matches and players he played with for London Welsh over 15 years ago and how much he enjoyed turning out for the club. A fascinating insight into one of the best players of the last decade in England and a top bloke to go with it. Enjoy.
Our guest this week is current Performance squad player, Andy Black. Andy joined London Welsh by chance at the beginning of the season when the club were in London North West 3. Our supporters immediately took to him as he played a variety of position from No 8, to front row during that season. We here about his upbringing in North Devon and about representing his county and playing for Exeter Chiefs Academy. HIs home club was Barnstaple and he played for them all the way through his senior school. Andy loves playing for London Welsh, enjoys the engagement with our supporters, has a great bunch of mates within the squad and to top that; he recently earned his 50th cap for his appearances in the 1st XV. Enjoy
Our guest this week is Aled Thomas. Aled came to London Welsh in 2007 after a few years at Newport Gwent Dragons. Still a young lad at 22 and wanting regular rugby at 10 for a club that was going places; and he chose right in London Welsh as this was their first season as a professional squad. During his first season at the club, he also went on to win the World 7's in Dubai with another club stalwart in Lee Beech. Three seasons for the club and he was offered a contract to go back to Scarlets to play Pro 12 which he took as World Cup cover for some of their Welsh Internationals, but played in the majority of their games. Phil Davies took him to Gloucester so he had a season in the Premiership, before going back to Scarlets to finish his professional career. You really get to appreciate the ups and down of being a pro player, when you hear how Aled's professional career came to an abrupt end. We hear about life as a Semi pro player in the Welsh Premiership and how he is still playing and recently been at the Principality playing for Aberafan. Enjoy.
Our guest this week is former Chairman Bleddyn Phillips. He takes us through how he was invited to join the Board when he hosted a St David's Day Dinner in Moscow! Once on the Board, he was made Chairman immediately and helped the Board make some big decisions in the Spring of 2012 as we were aiming for Promotion to the Premiership. Bleddyn takes us through what he is doing in retirement to keep himself busy with his work with the Scarlets and Swansea University. We hear about how he met his wife and all the glamorous locations he has worked around the world. London Welsh still has a special place in his heart and we hear why he felt he had to step down as Chair in 2016. A fascinating insight into a key character who was instrumental in ensuring we had the right to play in the Premiership.
Our guest this week, is current squad member and prop superstar Sam Mahoney. Sam has played prop since his early days at Colchester RFC when he joined them at U11. We get to learn about his journey in rugby and why he took a gap year to wait for the love of his life to join him at University and when he made the transition from Colts rugby to Senior rugby for Clacton. At University he bonded with a fellow student and became best mates with Tom Baldwin, which you hear quite a bit about their rugby journey, through Uni to London 1 North and then to London Welsh together. Who was the London Welsh member who encouraged Sam to join the club? Sam loved his first 3 seasons at the club and became a popular player with our supporters as he was the basis for our strong scrum and he also got over the whitewash a fair few times. A few concussions prevented him getting a run of games in our second season and work and injury hampered his availability in the third season, but he has still made 39 appearances for us since project reset. We hear he is desperate to come back and play once he can come back and train more often. A top guy. Enjoy.
Our guest in this weeks' episode is Terwyn Williams, Life member of London Welsh. London Welsh has been a second home for Terwyn for over 50 years, from when he landed in London in 1970 and where he has made so many life long friends. We hear about where in West Wales he was brought up and started to play rugby and then where he went to College. He didn't go straight into education, but found his way to his real passion of teaching History, Geography and Games across three schools in West London for over 30 years. His passion for sport shines through and we discuss his involvement with the Welsh Exiles and the players he found for the WRU over the years. London Welsh has been a massive part of hie life and we hear about how he has been involved with the club, primarily helping with the kit for 30 years and most of the time with Pete Lowe. A fantastic trip down memory lane for our listeners.
Our guest this week is Nathan Trevett. In this episode we get to understand Nathan's journey from Youth rugby to Senior pro player in South Wales. He played senior rugby at 18 years and 4 days for Cardiff RFC and played for them and Glamorgan Wanderers, before getting his chance at Cardiff Blues as injury cover whilst some of the players were at the World Cup. Cardiff kept Nathan on for another season, so he got some game time in the Pro 12, before Justin Burnell signed him for London Welsh, were he stayed for 3.5 years. When London Welsh were expelled from the Championship, clubs in the Welsh Premiership were after Nathan and he ended his career playing for Merthyr RFC. We get to understand what life after rugby is like, plus an update on what his son is achieving in rugby.
Our guest this week is former London Welsh prop and captain Julian Davies. This Barry boy came to London Welsh in 1980 and played for the club for over 12 seasons. He had to bide his time and literally fight his way into the first team by demonstrating his scrummaging prowess in those legendary Thursday night training sessions. He led the club on many occasion, appointed for a couple of seasons as club captain, but also took over the reigns when others got injured. We discuss his captaining style, the many club tours that happened during the 1980's and the friendships that last until this day. We look back at his time at the club through the many stories Julian has of being a proud player of this club. Julian left London Welsh and went on to make 150 appearances for Esher and retiring just before his 40th birthday. We discuss what he is up to now as President of the Voyagers and scrum coach at Reeds Weybridge. A fascinating insight into club life by one of London Welsh's most colourful characters.
In this episode we hear from the many characters from around the club who enable match days's at London Welsh. Saturday 18th March was the first league fixture for the Men's 1st XV since Feb 2020 and everyone was excited for the match. We hear from the following at the club Pre Match Michael Talbot - Operations Director Natalie Smith - Women's Captain Pete Lowe - Director and Team Manager Terweyn Williams - Life Member Rocky Hudson - Druids Coach Joe Jones - Chair of LWRFC Choir Matt Mcclymont - Owner of School House London Crone Du Rand - Head Coach of London Cornish Tom Hunt - London Welsh player Will Taylor - S&C Coach at London Welsh Paolo Peschisolido - London Welsh player
Our guest this week is Rugby Commentator and Content Producer, Nick Heath. Whilst London Welsh were in the Premiership, Nick was the club's stadium announcer and VIP match day host. Nick moved from London Welsh to announce at Harlequins when his Commentating career took off. He currently works for Talksport, Channel 4, England rugby and commentator on International rugby, Premier 15's and The Premiership. During lockdown Nick had no work as a freelance journalist and found interesting ways to publicise his craft an his social media following increased substantially and led to some interesting new working opportunities for him. Nick loved his time at London Welsh and mentions that the Match Day announcing is in good hands at the club.
Our guest this week, is current Bath RFC and England International Josh McNally. Josh was recently capped by England during their Summer matches with USA & Canada after displaying some great form during the last Premiership season. He grew up in Hereford and always wanted to serve in the forces and didn't really think about having a career in rugby. His journey started with the Colts at Luctonians and then he moved to the Royal Air Force, where his rugby developed over a couple of years and he went on to represent them, as well as playing for Henley Hawks. It was at Henley where he was spotted by London Welsh and was signed by the club as they were then promoted to the Premiership under Justin Burnell's stewardship. Josh had three seasons with the club, before he moved to London Irish and then on to Bath RFC. This is a fascinating insight into someone who found a career in rugby a bit later than most and has blossomed into an England International. We also include some post match interviews in this episode with from the Battersea Ironsides match on 4th September with Tom Baldwin, Liam Chennells and Ben West.
In this weeks' episode we hear from many people across the club as excitement builds towards the start of the season. Our Director of Rugby, Cai Griffiths takes us through his thoughts on pre season; the matches the squad have played, plus what he expects over the first few months. There are a couple of interviews with players post the Cardiff match and this is something we will look to continue to do throughout the season; where we hope to get use to using the different microphone!!! We catch up with Head coach of the Women's team, Michael Griffiths, who introduces their new backs coach,Lee Irvine to us. They tell us about their Inner Warrior Camp and the new teams they will be playing this season. We then hear from Nell, one of the originals from the Girls rugby squad players about the anticipation of our first ever U15's girls team. Brendan takes us through the excitement of the Minis season starting and what enjoyment the parents and players of some of our U9's had when they went on tour to Cardiff for the weekend. Finally, Andy Evans our Colts coach, chats about the pre season the Colts have had and what we should be expecting from them this season.
Our guest this week is Director and Head of Men's Rugby, Jonathan Shankland. Jon came to London Welsh after playing National League rugby in the Midlands and fell in love with the club. He has played for the club from 2011 until the end of our first season in the Herts and Middlesex league, where he decided to retire and play for the Vets. He has made life long friends at the club and decided to put his efforts into post his playing career into managing the Men's teams across the club. He takes us through what that involves on a weekly basis and how we have recruited so many players for our forthcoming season in London South 1. Jonathan is also the club's social media guru and explains how much output the club puts out each week to keep us front of mind with our huge following and supporter base.
Our guest this week is Rhodri Dawes. Having watched his dad play for London Welsh and then move away from London, Rhodri began his rugby journey in the Midlands. He then moved to Herts and played some rugby for school and then made his senior rugby debut with Hertford in the National League and then went on to Shelford Rugby Club and played for them for a couple of seasons. He came to London Welsh in the second year of project reset and played for two seasons for the club accumulating quite a lot of points for the club and of course continued the Dawes dynasty at London Welsh as both his father, Michael; and grandfather, John having played for the club. A fascinating chat with a player who really enjoyed the two seasons at the club and what it meant to him for his grandfather to watch him play.
Our guest this week is Michael Dawes. Michael is one third of the London Welsh Dawes dynasty, with his Dad, John Dawes playing, captaining and Coaching the London Welsh sides through the 60's to 90's; and then his son, Rhodri playing for the club across the last three seasons. Michael talks about his days playing for the Minis and Youth throughout the 80's and 90's and recollects some of the great tours they went on. He made his 1st XV debut in 1990 and played for the club for over 10 years, with many ups and down for him and the club throughout this period. Michael talks quite candidly about his dad's recent passing and the amount of tributes from around the word the family received.
Our guest this week is Club President, John Taylor. John was born and bred in Watford, with Welsh parents and played rugby at Watford Grammar School and Fullerians during his Youth. A skilled centre in his day who met Gerald Davies at Loughborough and was convinced by his coaches to switch to a backrow forward; where his rugby journey took off. John takes us through is glittering playing career with London Welsh, Wales and the Lions and gives us his perspective on his tour to South Africa and his experience with Apartheid and how his objections with this regime, cost him a place in the famous Barbarians match of 1973. John speaks about the recent passing of two London Welsh stalwarts and great friends, John Dawes and Dr Ken Thomas; and what his relationship with them meant to him and the contribution they both made to London Welsh. We also chat about John's successful post playing career in commentating and journalism as he shares his thoughts on the ups and downs of being involved with London Welsh through the decades.
London Welsh Rugby Club Podcast Season 2 - Trailer.
In this series we continue to catch up with the many characters who are connected with the club. The podcasts will be less regular this season, but will include some match days news as well as interviews with our main guest. The podcast series is hosted by Club Director, Gareth Vaughan Jones.
Our guest in this special episode is current Wales captain, Siwan Lillicrap. She take us through balancing life working as Head Coach at Swansea University, with playing rugby for Bristol Bears and Wales. We chat about the recent 6 Nations campaign and the likely build up to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in Oct 2022 and what their target should be. We get to understand Siwan's rugby journey to getting capped by Wales and that she couldn't play rugby until she was 17; when she joined Waunarlwydd RFC. Siwan also chat about the recent strategic partnership between London Welsh and Swansea University; where the Career Hub will mentor graduates who come to London to work.
Our special guest this week is Top International and RFU Referee Luke Pearce. Luke takes us through his refereeing journey from when he started in Devon aged 16, promoted to the National Panel by the age of 21 and a Premiership referee at the age of 24. We chat about some of the challenges of refereeing during Covid times and look back at the times he has refereed London Welsh in National 1 and the Championship. We discuss that match vs Saracens in the Premiership and how he reacted after the game and what has changed during his 10 years officiating in the top league. Luke takes us through refereeing France vs Wales and how he works with his team on match days and how much he enjoys refereeing at the Community game level. Enjoy.
In this episode, Lyn Jones takes us through his decision to come to London Welsh and those magical two seasons' the club had winning the Championship in 2012 and playing in the Premiership the following season. We get to understand what was required to be successful in the Championship and the key matches in his first season in charge. The success in the play offs and then the tactics at Bedford in the Semi Final; which meant we had a shot at glory in the final vs Cornish Pirates; with Lyn putting some calls back to ODP to ensure it was still open when the bus got back. We hear from Lyn about all the challenges of getting ready to play Premiership rugby and all the drama that surrounded the club that season. Lyn was nominated Premiership Coach of the year, even though London Welsh were relegated. Lyn chats about the Rugby World Cup experience with Russia and how much he is enjoying his time in the wonderful country. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is former Director of Rugby, Lyn Jones. In this episode we get to hear about Lyn's journey in rugby up until his time with London Welsh. Where did he develop his love of the game and then playing for Neath in the 80's with Brian Thomas as Head Coach. We chat about his move to Llanelli, the trophies he won and getting capped by Wales. We understand a bit about Lyn the business man and the transition to player coach at Treorchy RFC. Lyn went to coach Neath RFC in the mid 90's, just as rugby turned professional and explains the challenges this had for many clubs. Lyn was well placed to take us through the transition to regional rugby and his role leading the Ospreys to Magners League success and how Wales benefitted from a strong Ospreys as Warren Gatland took the reigns. This episode finishes with Lyn taking us through his time teaching at a school in Abu Dhabi. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is former Club captain Matt Corker. Matt is 10th on the all time appearance list, but first on the all time league appearances for the club in his 9 year association with London Welsh. Matt's rugby prowess came to light only when he went to University in Bath to study Chemistry and went on to play for English Universities; which is where he got noticed by Wasps. Wasps signed him after he graduated, but he found the path to the first team very challenging with many internationals and Lions in their squad, despite him wining young player of the year during his first year with them. Matt was loaned out to Blackheath to further his rugby education and then came on loan to London Welsh where he made a lasting impression and signed for the club. His playing consistency during his time with the London Welsh is remarkable and he only had a period out of the game during one season for quite a unique health problem. Unfortunately for Matt; he didn't get the Testimonial he deserved at the club and signed for Richmond to help them ease their way into the Championship and this started his coaching journey; where he is now Coaching Canterbury RFC in National 2. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is former London Welsh Board Director and Youth Chairman, Paul Browne. Paul is one of our fantastic volunteers at the club who brought all his four children to our Minis and soon got involved in Coaching and inspiring children to play our wonderful game. He tells us of the odd games he played for the Occies in the back row and how he enjoyed rugby both at Brighton College and Oxford University. Paul deepened his connection with the club when he became Youth Chairman and made some lifelong friends whilst helping see everyone prosper within those age groups. He was also involved in assisting Danny Griffiths and Ian Horgan in ensuring that the pro entity was kept separate from the Amateur post the Hollingshead era; which then led to Paul being asked on the main board of Directors as we enjoyed our journey to the Premiership twice. We hear how proud he is of all his children's sporting prowess and loving seeing Morgan coaching our Youth. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
In our second special, we catch up with former Wales captain, Pontypool player and BBC Rugby Commentator; Eddie Butler. Our chat starts with Ed paying his tribute to the passing of our Club President, John Dawes. We cover his career path to the Commentary chair, we discuss why London Welsh chose not to play Pontypool for many years in the 70's; why Wales perform in the 6 Nations and not in the Autumn and the perception of London Welsh in Wales.
Our guest this week is former England International, Newcastle Falcon legend, Toulon, Northampton and London Welsh captain, Tom May. Tom has had a glittering playing career, playing over 250 games in the English Premiership and someone who really enjoyed playing for London Welsh at the end of his playing career. He enjoyed it so much, he then played for the club across both seasons as an amateur player, whilst he was backs coach. We discuss life post rugby and how he keeps himself sane and how is he assisting other sports professional transition into traditional workplaces.
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is former club captain and current player, Lloyd Davies. Lloyd is a product of Monmouth School where he learned to love the game and then went off to Cardiff University to enjoy the social side of rugby and met Morgan Browne and Rhys Howells whilst playing there. Prior to University, Lloyd went to work in Australia and played for a small town North of Brisbane, where he perfected his side step, ensuring the strong Polynesian players would not be able to tackle him. Lloyd joined London Welsh in 2013 and is one of the few players perfectly placed to compare pre and post project reset. He tells us what it meant captaining the club and playing in front of the hundreds of supporters who would attend our games at Old Deer Park. We hear the about the misery of coping with the run of bad luck he has had with injuries and Lloyd gives us a exclusive to the pod on some personal news.
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD.
Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest for our first special episode is Rugby World Cup Winner, Will Greenwood MBE. The Special episodes are an opportunity for us to hear from different voices connected to the game and to understand how they might relate to London Welsh, Will discusses the return of the Community game and how he and his family get so much out of playing and coaching rugby at Maidenhead RFC. We discuss the possibility of a London Welsh fixture against them in a couple of seasons and reminisce a bit about Will's playing days. We discuss the Championship, playing against London Welsh and Wales; plus the challenge of making the game as safe as possible to encourage players young and old to continue playing this wonderful game. Any feedback is welcome and please let us know who else would you like to hear from in these special episodes.
Our guest this week is Kevin Bowring. Kevin came to London Welsh in 1977 after playing with Clive Rees for the Voyagers in an Amsterdam 7's tournament. 267 appearances across 9 seasons, with 3 as club captain, puts him 6th on the all time appearances list. Kevin loved his time at London Welsh and enjoyed the tours, 7's tournaments and playing in our Centenary season fixtures against Barbarians and Fiji. He was never capped by Wales, even though many thought he deserved a call up; but he did get selected to play for the Barbarians for a few fixtures. Kevin is renowned for his Coaching and was heavily involved with Wales age grade for a number of year, before he was chosen to be Head Coach of Wales for 3 seasons, post rugby turning professional in 1995. On leaving the Wales job, the RFU recruited Kevin to be Head of Elite Coach development, where he was advising all the top Premiership Coaches and England Coaches for 14 years. He continues to work in coaching and offering his services to many of today's leading rugby coaches. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is former Club Captain, Mike Powell. Born and bred in South Wales and started his junior rugby journey at Caldicot RFC where he remains now, helping to Coach the senior team. Went off to study at University and whilst at Uni, played for Pontypool, Walsall, Exeter and captained Wales Students. Mike signed professionally for Bridgend and then had a season with Celtic Warriors, before he signed for Ospreys and played in their historic victory vs Australia. Mike signed for London Welsh in 2008 and in four seasons, played in over 100 matches for club and was part of the squad to win promotion to the Premiership. He signed for Birmingham & Moseley and played for them for three seasons, whilst preparing for life post rugby. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is Richard 'Barrel' Thomas. Barrel is a product of our Minis and Youth from the late 70's and early 80's; and was usually at Old Deep Park through his childhood as his father Edgar Thomas played for the club and was then heavily involved in Junior rugby and then with all the Senior Men's squads, as a Club Official. Barrel went on to play Senior Rugby for the club for 12/13 years and over 190 appearances in the first XV and then the same again in the Druids from 1988 -2000. He has played with many of the characters across this period and been there through relegations and promotions and finished whilst we are at Level 2 in the Allied Dunbar Premiership 2. Barrel is now seen playing Touch rugby or Coaching the U15's when he is at the club and propping up the bar with his front row mates from the Martini Club. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is former London Welsh player, Alex Davies. Alex is from the Wirral and only really got into rugby as a teenager as football was his first love. He played senior rugby for Birkenhead Park at 17 and then some matches for Sale Jets, but couldn't quite get an Academy contract at Sale. He commenced his degree and also went on his first visit to play rugby in New Zealand where he really fell in love with the country and the game. He came back and played for Waterloo, when he was then spotted by Plymouth and spent 3 season there, becoming their record points scorer in a season, during his second season. We get to understand how precarious life is in the Championship with contract negotiations etc, but eventually London Welsh came in for Alex and he joined the Squad that won the Championship under Lyn Jones in 2011. Alex had four great years at London Welsh and takes us through the highs and lows of his time at the club, before he then joined Ealing, Yorkshire Carnegie and then his last pro contract was at Bath RFC. Alex has always had an eye on the future and commenced his coaching journey whilst he was at London Welsh and explains what he gets out of coaching and where is at on that journey. This interview is a fascinating insight into life as a pro player in and around the Championship and Alex really opens up about some of the challenges he faced at different clubs. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is Club Captain, Zoe Jeanes. She has been with London Welsh Women for over 8 years and takes us through that journey. She took up the sport at University where she signed up at the Freshers' Fair and then took a couple of weeks to decide whether to attend or not We are glad she did, as that was rugby and London Welsh's gain. Zoe works in recruitment and informs us of the many transferrable skills there are from rugby into the business environment and how she got involved with the Charity 'Inspiring Girls' as they became a sponsor of the Women's team at the club. Zoe is a great advocate of the environment at London Welsh; is very competitive and is able to channel this to drive the Women's team forward and is a big part of their success across the last two years. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is former London Welsh, Wales and British & Irish Lions Centre, Rob Ackerman. Born in Ebbw Vale from great rugby stock, he went to Christ College in Brecon before following in his fathers' footsteps and playing for Newport RFC. Within a year of making his senior debut he was capped by Wales for the centenary test vs New Zealand at the Arms Park as a raw 19 year old up against some greats of the game. In the Summer of 1982, Rob decided to move to London Welsh as he was studying at St Mary's in Teddington and had a storming season, culminating with his selection for the Lions. He had a great time in his four seasons at London Welsh, culminating in a Middlesex 7's victory at a full Twickenham and a losing appearance in the John Player Trophy Final in 1985. He then played Rugby League for several years, before completing his training as a teacher and moving to the Southern Hemisphere to teach PE and to coach some of the future All Blacks.
Our guest this week is current player Elis Staines. Elis is a graduate of Llandovery College in West Wales and managed to finish his education both academic and rugby in New Zealand. Back in the UK Elis came to University in London and found his way to London Welsh just as our first season got under way with Sonny Parker as our DoR. Since then, Elis has loved the environment at the club and made many connections and has found some good role models at the club who are like a second family to him in London. You sometime forget how young Elis is, but his contribution on the field across the last three seasons has been outstanding and he is certainly a favourite of many who come and watch at Old Deer Park. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is Danny Wilson. Danny gave up playing rugby after a degenerative back condition in his early 20's meant he had to retire; which meant he focussed on a coaching pathway. Employed the the WRU to grow the game with schools and clubs; he then went to work for Cardiff Blues academy. He got his big break when London Welsh offered him the forward job in 2008 to work with Martin Jones and the rest is history. He has worked for three of the Pro 14 regions and coached Wales U20's at two World Cups, including one final and a semi final. He would have coached Bristol in the Premiership if London Welsh hadn't beaten them in the play offs; so it was a year in the Championship with them; and then three years at Cardiff Blues which included wining the Challenge Cup. A World Cup with Scotland in Japan as forward coach with Gregor Townsend, before being the current Head Coach of Glasgow Warriors. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is Colin Charvis. Colin commenced his senior rugby career at London Welsh whilst he was studying in London and stayed for four years having played in the Occies, 3rds, 2nds and over 80 appearances for the first XV. His club career took him from Swansea, to Tarbes (France D2), Newcastle and Newport Gwent Dragons. Colin will be remembered for his try scoring ability for Wales, with over 90 caps, 3 Rugby World Cups, Captaining Wales, plus a few appearances on the Lions tour of 2001 in Australia. Post rugby, Colin has kept himself busy with setting up his flooring company, learning Welsh and Broadcasting. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is former London Welsh back row forward, Ed Jackson. Ed played for London Welsh for only two seasons, but what a two years they were for the club. Promotion from the play offs in the Championship to a season in the Premiership with Lyn Jones as our DoR. Ed went on to have a successful playing career with Wasps and Newport Gwent Dragons after leaving London Welsh, but he then suffered an horrific injury when diving into the shallow end of a swimming pool in April 2017. Having undergone an operation to repair a fracture of his C6/C7 vertebrae, he lay, quadriplegic on his back in ICU with only limited movement in his right arm. His rugby career now over and with experts warning him that he may never walk again; Ed faced a battle to for his own independence. WIthin a year of his accident, Ed Jackson climbed to the top of Snowdon with many of his former London Welsh team mates at his side. He hasn't looked back since, walking up many European mountains and the Himalayas, raising money for charities that helped him, including Wings for Life and Rugby Restart. He has been inspirational to many other patients who have suffered similar fetes and has now formed his own Charity which is called Millimeters to Mountains to help others. Truly an inspirational individual. https://www.millimetres2mountains.org/our-story/ This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week, is former London Welsh Director of Rugby, Clive Griffiths. Clive played Rugby Union for Llanelli whilst completing his A levels and then post University, combined teaching with playing for them. He was a full back and had to wait his time behind JPR Williams to get his cap for Wales, when he made his debut vs England. He then signed for St Helens and played Rugby League for 9 years for them and Warrington and he then got capped for Wales in Rugby League to be a dual code International. Once he had retired from playing, Clive combined coaching Rugby League for a number of clubs with his teaching. Clive's first full time Union Coaching role was with London Welsh in the Summer of 1996 and Clive had three great seasons' with us, before he went to Coach Swansea and Newport Gwent Dragons. This then led to him coaching for Wales with Graham Henry and Steve Hansen; before he helped Wales to their first Grand Slam in 27 years in 2005 with Mike Ruddock. He then went on to Coach Doncaster Knights and in this podcast gives his view on the Championship and one of his toughest days in his Coaching career. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is Dylan Pugh. Dylan came to London Welsh from Neath RFC after a couple of successful years being coached by Lyn Jones; playing with many who went on to represent Wales and the Lions with distinction. His pathway to Neath wasn't typical as he was part of the Bath academy when Bath were in the pomp, but only played a couple of matches at senior level before he was snapped up by Neath. He sees London Welsh as his club as he was with us for over 6 years, playing under Adrian Davies for most of it and really enjoyed the environment created by our esteemed Head Coach. Dylan left to forge a career in Media and is now an entrepreneur who launched his own Podcasting business in this pandemic and is an Ambassador for Global Welsh. Dylan made a comeback for London Welsh in 2017 when Sonny and Cai bumped into him and convinced him out of retirement to give it another go. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week, is Club Captain Chris Lilly. Before Joining Welsh, Chris had a rich rugby background, playing through the various Leinster age groups - A Schools, u18 etc. and got a rugby scholarship to UCD (University College Dublin). Chris then earned a place in the Leinster sub Academy for 2 years and started for the Leinster u20s during their winning interprovincial campaign. To top all of this Chris was called up to u20 Irish squad but was unfortunately not successful in gaining a place in the 6Nations/Junior Word Cup. On leaving Ireland we had the great fortune as a club that Chris decided to join our ranks to play his rugby, his fantastic debut at London Welsh in 2018 meant he was given the Coaches Player of the Year award for his role as a key player in the winning squad and was then given the task of Captaining the club for the 2019/20 season.
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD.
Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks' guest is Will Taylor, Strength and Conditioning Coach at London Welsh RFC. Will arrived at London Welsh in 2017 after Sonny Parker had got in touch with him to be part of the Coaching group with Cai and him, to take the club on a journey back up the leagues. Will was working in a restaurant, but this moment was pivotal to Will's life as this provided the opportunity for him to open up his own business, which is the gym, Barch Richmond in the Summer of 2018. Pre London Welsh, Will had played for two Welsh regions, Ospreys and Scarlets, as well as a host of local cubs like, Dunvant, Carmarthern and Aberavon and had represented Wales at two Junior World Cups. He would say his most successful time as a player was when he first arrived at Wasps and had a consistent run of games in the Premiership and really enjoyed his time up in London. For more information on Will's gym: https://barchrichmond.com/ This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
In this weeks' episode we have our Christmas special, where we catch up with a number of guests to see how they are, how the club is fairing and how they will be spending Christmas. We have an episode available on Spotify only due to music rights. Joint Club President - John Taylor Life Member - Terwyn Williams Club Chaplain - Paul Hill Chairman - Danny Griffiths Director of Womens' and Girls Rugby - Ruth Barton Director of Mens Rugby - Cai Griffiths Chair of Supporters Club - Rhiannon Williams This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week, is Honorary Vice President Seb Scotney. Seb has been volunteering at the club for over 30 years and has inspired hundreds of players who have been coached by him in our Little Wizards (under 6's). A language graduate from Oxford University, who went on to have a successful career in the City, but found his Sunday home as he lived around the corner from Old Deer Park. A passion for Music led him to create his own Jazz newsletter and he would play his Saxaphone at the Minis Christmas Party. I'm not sure many clubs the length and breadth of Great Britain would have a volunteer like Seb ; who has looked after our youngest cohort for 27 years and encourages so many parents to become Volunteers and to love being part of our Community.
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks' guest is former London Welsh front row player, Greg Bateman. Greg arrived at Old Deer Park in 2011 giving up a full time job and moving from Dorking RFC to have a crack at being a full time professional rugby player with Welsh. During that time he converted to hooker and played two years for the club, before a move to Exeter Chiefs to continue playing in the Premiership. Whilst only there for two years, Greg enjoyed the environment, bud didn't play as often as he liked, so he made the move to Welford Road to play for Leicester Tigers. Greg played across all three front row positions, the only Premiership player to do so and the self proclaimed, People's captain, played nearly 100 games for the club. He is now playing for Newport Gwent Dragons and has also just launched a range of beer, aptly named
The People's Captain. Code PSC003 is 10% off first order - we’re doing free delivery for wales. https://peoplescaptain.co.uk/
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks' guest is former London Welsh and Wales International player, Rebecca Rowe. Rebecca has represented her country at three different sports and holds a World Record at another. Rebecca enjoyed five successful seasons at the club before she went on to play for Wales and then back to Harlequins in the Tyrrell Premiership at the Elite end of Womens' rugby. A very impressive track record at the top of Women's sport; but that isn't enough for her as she embarks on her biggest challenge yet in attempting to cross the Antarctic with an all female firefighting crew in 2023. They are fundraising for the challenge and you can find out more on the links below. https://antarcticfireangels.co.uk/ https://www.gofundme.com/f/antarctic-fire-angels This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks' guest is Master of Wine and club patron, Greg Sherwood. The whole ethos of this podcast series is to bring interesting characters we have connected to our club to a wider audience. Greg coaches his son in the Minis on a Sunday morning and is a regular at our club lunches and sponsored Rhodri Dawes last season. You hear about his upbringing in South Africa and then he takes us through taking his interest in wine more seriously and what it takes to complete his Master of Wine and to be one of only 5 South Africans to be awarded this rare award. Greg also takes us through the recently launched London Welsh Wine Service and what is in the 'Christmas in a Box" 6 case special. The club benefits financially from every case sold. Please click on the link below if interested in purchasing the case. https://www.handford.net/shop/product/london-welsh-christmas-in-a-box-6-bottle-pack/ This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks' guest is former dual code International, Wales Women Head Coach and London Welsh player and coach Rowland Phillips. Rowland commenced his rugby journey in St David's and became a Neath RFC legend playing for them in the mid to late 80's before he took the decision to move to Rugby League. Clive Griffiths brought Rowland back to Union at London Welsh where we turned professional for the 1997 season in National 1. Rowland stayed two seasons, before he played out the rest of his career as Player Coach for Neath RFC. He had a glory period as Head Coach for Neath in the 90's winning 4 consecutive Premiership Titles and went on to Coach Wales Defence and Ospreys forwards in the 2000's. He then headed to Italy for 4 years, before he had a season and a half coaching London Welsh in the Premiership and Championship, wining the British & Irish Cup for the club. A great gregarious character; we hear some real honesty from Rowland about his career and his time at London Welsh. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This week our guests are all from the London Welsh Careers Hub. Co-Leaders, Pete Leyborne and Haydn Parry and Player Representatives, Emily Alland and Rhys Tudur Davies. Its imperative that all our Supporters are aware of our Career Hubs and they should think to themselves, how could they assist the Hub. The Hub is a unique initiative which draws upon the experience and expertise of the whole London Welsh Community from players, supporters, patrons to sponsors. All share the united goal of helping build a stronger future for our players so that they can achieve the same level of competitive excellence off the field that they enjoy on it! Our Careers Hub offers comprehensive advice and guidance on all aspects of career development. From career identification, CV design, interview preparation, presentation skills, leadership development and much more. The Hub capitalises upon industry experts from within our own community, specialist mentors, who are able to offer in depth insight into specific industries and functional disciplines. https://londonwelshhub.co.uk/ This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks' guest is former benefactor, President, Chairman and current Life Member; Kelvin Bryon. Kelvin joined London Welsh as President in 1994 and remained actively involved with the club until 2016 when his wife's ill health meant he had to step away from London Welsh. Kelvin's investment, meant that the club went from Level 5 to the Premiership in 15 years and was always there to ensure that London Welsh were solvent when many a potential other investor fell by the wayside. This is the first interview Kelvin has given since the Premiership days and he is very honest about RFU funding, professionalism, EPQ challenges, The Championship, Neil Hollinshead & Trevor Owen-Shaw saga. He was overwhelmed with the amount of cards and e mails received from the London Welsh family when his wife passed away in May 2020 and demonstrates what the club really meant to him and Pat across the years. Sit down, relax with a cuppa and hear from the great man who realised the ambition of getting London Welsh to the pinnacle of English rugby and what it took to get there. This interview was recorded, socially distanced in Kelvin's garden, hence a few outside noise affects like the wind and some nearby builders. This doesn't take away from the opportunity to hear from someone who has put his own hand in his pocket for 20 years to give our players and supporters, memories and friendships they would never of had, without Kelvin's amazing generosity. Thank you also to POMODO podcasts for helping with the sound editing. GVJ
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks' guest is club mascot, Dewi Dragon. This is the first time we hear the voice of Dewi and learn about his history. We understand what the challenges are of being a mascot and if there is a rivalry between other mascots in rugby and beyond. We really get to understand the character of Dewi and what he finds so inspiring in being associated with London Welsh.
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD.
Contact details:
0208 3359123
email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks guests is Robert Martyn Jones, who is known to all of us as Joe. A stalwart for nearly 50 years, player, volunteer, Supporters Club Committee, founder of the London Welsh RFC Choir, supporter and Club Hon Vice President; he tells us what being part of the London Welsh family really means to him and the many friendships and amazing experiences he had had being part of this wonderful club.
Everyone knows Joe, but you will certainly get to know him better, by listening to this episode.
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD.
Contact details:
0208 3359123
email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is Tom Baldwin. Tom joined the club at the onset of project reset and was awarded his 50th cap at the recent end of season awards. Our towering Second row takes us trough his rugby journey from Gwent to University in London and to the hallowed turf of Old Deer Park. He speaks highly of the environment that the coaches have created and the pride he has in playing for the club.
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD.
Contact details:
0208 3359123
email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks guest, is former Director of Coaching at London Welsh; Adrian Davies. Adrian was a talented sportsman who can turn his hand to many sports and represented Wales at age grade Football and Rugby. As an 18 year old, he played a season at Neath RFC with other former London Welsh stalwarts, Rowland Phillips and Lyn Jones before he went to Cambridge University. A four time Cambridge blue, who played at a packed out Twickenham when both sides were stacked with Internationals. He then spent 6 years at Cardiff RFC, combining rugby and working life; before he was one of the first ever professional players in the UK and signed for Richmond RFC. Three eventful seasons at Richmond and that was his playing career over and Adrian went into Coaching, with a few months coaching Esher RFC, before he was offered the role at London Welsh. Five years coaching the club in Tier 2 and you can quite clearly hear the pride and passion Adrian has for the club and the array of fantastic characters he inspired each week to turn out for London Welsh. This episode is jam packed with plenty of stories from his rugby career including his Welsh International experience and his thoughts on Professional rugby. The club are lucky that Adrian is still involved inspiring the next generation of players in our U15's and U16's on Sunday mornings' and still attends our matches at Old Deer Park to catch up with the crew. Adrian is back where it all began and is working as a Surveyor; as a Director of Client Care for Paragon Building Consultancy Ltd. Grab a cuppa and sit down to enjoy time this bumper episode with a great chap who has played a big part in our history. This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD. Contact details: 0208 3359123 email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
Our guest this week is Minis Chairman and current Vets player, Simon Staton. Simon was brought up in Bridgend, played Youth rugby and then went to play at Loughborough University. When he moved to London, the focus was on his career; but eventually he was convinced to come and play for London Welsh and had a few seasons playing for the Occies. Simon introduced his family to London Welsh Minis and he hasn't looked back, making a big contribution to the club as a Coach and Minis Chairman.
Please subscribe, like and follow this podcast and any reviews on Apple podcasts are more than welcome.
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD.
Contact details:
0208 3359123
email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks' guest is ex England International 15's & 7's player, Paul Sampson. Paul was England U18 sprint champion; beating Dwain Chambers who later went on to represent Great Britain at the Olympics. Paul chose Rugby Union and has been inducted in the Wasps Hall of Fame for playing over 100 times for the club and being their Premiership Top Try Scorer in one season. Paul played 5 seasons for London Welsh at the end of his career, loving the atmosphere and the support at Old Deer Park; playing over 100 matches for the club. He is our all time top League try scorer and has many fond memories of his time at the club.
Please subscribe, like and follow this podcast and any reviews on Apple podcasts are more than welcome.
This podcast series is sponsored by London Welsh Developments LTD.
Contact details:
0208 3359123
email - info@lwdltd.co.uk
This weeks' guest is Rhianon Williams who has just been appointed Chair of the Supporters Club. She hails from Bridgend has been an active member of the Supporters Club for 14 years and is relishing the prospect of taking the helm. We get to understand her journey to ODP and her love for organising the Coach trips to away games and the infamous International away days to City Hall. We get to understand what the Supporters Club aims are and possible areas where they can improve. Rhianon is quite clear what she needs to do and has set herself an ambitious target to grow membership to the Supporters Club. It's only £10 to join the Supporters club and all proceeds go to help the club.
All details on the Supporters Club membership can be found on the main club website or click on this link
https://www.londonwelshrfc.com/a/official-supporters-club-57842.html
In this episode we catch up with former Chairman of London Welsh, Gwyn Williams. Gwyn came to London and eventually found ODP a second home for his family. From taking his son Griff to Little Wizards with Seb Scotney, getting involved with Coaching his year group and then stepping up to become Minis Chairman. Gwyn was then convinced to be Amateur Chairman, when the 1st XV was in Herts & Middlesex 2. For three years, that role was challenging enough and then the pro club in the Championship lost their funding and Gwyn stepped up to be Chair of the whole community club. Gwyn was instrumental in Project Reset and got Sonny Parker on board to commence our 5 year plan. The role was all consuming and with the Club in a good place, Gwyn stepped aside and took up another volunteer role, this time with Old Deer Park Partnership. We also hear the immense pride he has in watching his son play for the club and his opinions on the player pathway for Youth rugby. Sit down, grab a cuppa; this is one not to be missed.
This weeks guest is Rhys Howells. Rhys was convinced to join London Welsh by his University mates, Lloyd Davies and Morgan Browne who were already playing for the club. Rhys had a successful School and University background, playing for Wellington School in the Daily Mail Cup, and representing them at the Rosslyn Park 7's. This led to Rhys playing for the Welsh Exiles; which gave him the opportunity to play for the Dragons at age grade as well as Wales U16's & U18's. He then played for Cardiff University and was then a bit of a rugby nomad until he came to London Welsh, where he has had a lot of success and played some of his best rugby.
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In this weeks' episode we hear from Directors about the key points they were getting across at the AGM Danny Griffiths - Chairman Haydn Parry - Vice Chair Michael Talbot - Operations Director Ruth Barton - Director of Women's and Girls Rugby Jonathan Shankland - Head of Mens Rugby Tim Boag - Commercial Director
In this weeks' episode we talk to Club Legend from both the Pro era and Amateurs', Pete Lowe. Pete first came to London Welsh in the mid 90's and got involved with helping the Supporters Club. Since Adrian Davies' time, he has been employed by the club to look after the Kit and in more recent times, been a volunteer team manager, working with Cai Griffiths. He has been with London Welsh home and away for all those years and absolutely loves being involved with live sport as you can tell in this interview, when you find out what he does in his day job. As always, if you are able to write a review on Apple, that would be appreciated.
Come on you Welsh
London Welsh backs Coach and current Ealing Trailfinders player, Steven Shingler takes us through his rugby journey, from Hendy RFC to Ealing. He has played at the top level for a number years in the Pro 14, the English Premiership and Championship and a brief stint in D2 in France. He could not have got closer to an International cap if he tried, with both Scotland and Wales vying for his services at some point. You find out how much he enjoys the environment at London Welsh and eludes to how he might fancy playing for the club in the future.
This week we hear former London Welsh outside half and Old Deer park favourite, Gordon Ross as he begins his new Coaching role at Newport Gwent Dragons. He tell us about his rugby journey from his time in School, then Edinburgh and the pathway to being an International for Scotland. He explains why he moved down South to Leeds and the journey from there, which took in clubs like; Castres, Saracens and then his 6 year spell at London Welsh, where he also commenced his coaching career, working with Justin Burnell.
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London Welsh Chair of Women's rugby, Paula Cooper and Club Director, Ruth Barton; tell us about their rugby journey and how they landed at London Welsh.. Both have been with London Welsh Women for over 15 years and takes us through the good times and all the people they have met along the way. They can't bear to hang up their boots , especially as they are enjoying the environment at the club and have such good camaraderie with the squad . They take us through their disappointment over finishing 4th last season and the joy of launching London Welsh's first ever girls team.
Lovejoy only played for London Welsh for half a season; but made a big impression with our Supporters. We catch up with him to discuss his rugby journey and to understand what life is like at London Irish.
Episode 10 is with LW members and London society referees Piers Skinner and Neil Wharton
This is a bonus episode from the end of season awards session at ODP, where Gareth chats to all the winners from the day, including a longer chat with Director of Rugby Cai Griffiths about the season ahead. Enjoy! Don't forget to follow us on social media @LondonWelshRFC to keep up to date with any new episodes and all the news related to London Welsh RFC
This weeks’ episode we chat to Former London Welsh Head coach Justin Burnell about his playing career as a back row, for Pontypridd, Neath and Cardiff RFC. He also gained Wales A Honours. Burnell was Academy Director at Welsh regional side Cardiff Blues and then became head coach when Dai Young left. He is currently Head Coach of Pontypridd RFC.
Episode 7 of the London Welsh rugby club podcast is with current 1st XV prop and LW Women's coach Michael Griffiths
Gareth chats to Operations Director - Michael Talbot, as well as a quick chat with Youth Coach and Club Coaching coordinator Damian McCarthy about the 4 Nations Challenge
This week's episode is a chat with former physio Chris Jenkins, who is now Head Physiotherapist Senior Men’s at Russia Rugby. He tells us about his fond memories down at ODP
Former club captain, who captained Welsh to the Premiership, tells us about his London Welsh story
In our launch episode we hear from the Club Chairman, Danny Griffiths. He takes us through his background with the club and how the current situation is affecting planning for the new season and why he is called 'The Rev'.
Coming Soon - the brand new podcast from London Welsh RFC.
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